A plate of baby back ribs from The Hurricane Club. [Photograph: Nick Solares]

$4 Burger Bargain: Four bucks at one sixtyblue gets you one of the best burger deals in Chicago: an enormous Dietzler Farms beef patty on a pretzel bun, served with a side of fries. Toppings, ranging from various cheeses to hunks of fried foie gras, are extra, but it's hard to mind too much.

Deep Dish Disappointment: The deep dish pizza at L'asso in New York's SoHo disappoints with a lack of toppings and a crust that was so "crisp and arid that it was hard to cut." The oversauced Margherita DOC didn't fare much better.

Back Yard Burgers: It's unclear if they use fresh meat or not, but if they do, the Back Yard Burgers in Ozark, MO, has somehow made it "have the same textural and flavor qualities as frozen burgers." The result? Definitely not as good as a patty from your own grill.

The Hurricane Club: Despite the "smack of colonialism and cultural misappropriation" that this new tropical-themed restaurant in Manhattan evokes, the food is seriously delicious. Nick Solares particularly enjoyed the "Jenga-stacked" baby back ribs, which were "glazed in honey and littered with Thai basil, mint, and crispy disks of fried lotus root."

Neighborhood Pizza: An unassuming suburban pizza joint in Stickney, IL, Villa Nova Pizzeria serves up a great Chicago thin crust pie. The crust, run through a roller, had a certain "crisp lightness" and an amazing depth of flavor.